GALESBURG, Ill. — After earning a pair of 2-2 ties against stiff competition to open the season, the Knox men's soccer team was unable to make it three in a row as the Prairie Fire (0-1-2) dropped a 2-1 decision to visiting Augustana College (1-1-2) on Tuesday afternoon at Jorge Prats Field.
All three goals in the contest were scored within a span of just over five minutes late in the first half. The Vikings dented the scoreboard first when Jamie K'Otieno gobbled up a teammate's shot that was blocked by a Knox defender and put it into the back of the net in the 33rd minute for a 1-0 Augie lead.
The Prairie Fire wasted little time in responding, tying the game up just three minutes later. First-year Sander Braathen lofted a long free kick just shy of midfield that found junior Kestervens Dera, who slipped a shot past the Viking keeper, knotting the score at one.
Augustana essentially copied that formula, though the pass from K'Otieno was simply in the flow of the from midfield, in stride to Jacob Roffman in the box, who netted his first goal of the season in the 38th minute.
In the second half, Knox continuously put pressure on the Viking defense, but it proved up to the challenge, saving four Prairie Fire shots to escape Galesburg with their first win of 2025.
"We tried a different look to start the game and it didn't work well," Knox Head Coach Tyler Sheikh said. "That's on me. I was proud of the team's immediate response to conceding the first, but was equally annoyed by switching off to concede the second. At halftime we challenged ourselves to show more verve and intensity. A 10-0 advantage on corners is a positive stat in our favor, but we know losing 2-1 is the only stat that matters."
- Dera's goal was his first of the season after scoring 11 in 11 games last year.
- Knox had tied its opponent in each of its last four games — two to end the 2024 season and two to start this one.
- Although Augustana has won three of the last four in the series, the Prairie Fire won three straight from 2017-19.
Knox will complete its four-game season-opening home stand on Saturday, Sept. 13 with Dominican University heading to town for a match at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed live with live stats available through the official website of Knox College Athletics, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.
